Amorphis have changed. That's a fact. But in their early days they played death metal of the finest kind. Tales from the Thousand Lakes is THE groundbreaking masterpiece for the Finnish melodic death metal scene. This album had a great influence on bands like Kalmah, Children of Bodom and Norther. It's very atmospheric ? the scenic cover, the apt title, the extraordinary lyrics, and finally, the doomful, melodic, sometimes melancholic music. The guitar parts on this album belong to the best in the genre.

The album's lyrics are based on the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala. This book is in fact a collection of ancient songs, combined and adapted by Elias Lonnrot in 1835. Most of these songs were found in Karelia, a part of Finland/Russia which is bordered in the East by the White Sea. The name of this area also served as the name for Amorphis? first album ?The Karelian Isthmus?.
?First Doom? and ?Forgotten Sunrise? are the two exceptions of the record. Esa Holopainen wrote them, and it's detectable that they were written by him and therefore are not a part of the Kalevala, though they might were inspired by it.

Three songs from the ?Tales From The Thousand Lakes? made it on Amorphis? new Greatest Hits record ?Chapters?. These are ?The Castaway?, ?Black Winter Day?, and ?Drowned Maid?. The Pink Floyd influenced ?The Castaway? is situated in mid-tempo, like the rest of the album. The murmuring sea at the end of ?Drowned Maid? perfectly matches the theme of the song and reveals the band's strong connection to nature.
The best-known song from the album probably is ?Black Winter Day?, the only single release from ?Tales From The Thousand Lakes?. Ville Tuomi lends this song his clean vocals.

?Forgotten Sunrise? and ?To Fathers Cabin? are two Iron Maiden inspired pieces concerning the guitar sound. The latter one is the only piece on the record that works just with Ville's clean vocals, though this sounds a bit weird, which could be because he speaks his lines and they added a reverberation to it.

Two more songs contain clean vocals ? ?Into Hiding? and ?In the Beginning?. They are one of the most melodic pieces on the disc.

?Tales From The Thousand Lakes? is an almost perfect album, so lean back, enjoy the music, and listen... when Amorphis tell you some tales from the land of the thousand lakes.

Why do South American people hate this album? 3 out 4 voters who gave this album a 1, (which is bullshit), are from South America. So this is what pure shit sounds like?

You know South Americans : Happy and perky folk
They can't value this kind of master piece ,which is born from sheer darkness and melancholy.
They prefer their thrash and death circles some melodic, a bit cheerful ,metal.

Ereinion - 08.03.2008 at 10:54

I love the sound of this album It is a mix of Psychedelic rock Death metal and Doom metal.... love it

This is a groundbreaking Masterpiece for the genre. A path opener that still serves today as reference for many bands.
Maybe for some it will sound a bit dated today, but I remember when I bought it and gave it a listen I was totally blown away by its power, depth and concept.

I have never heard the album but I have to say I like the style of the review. It's great when people provide thought-provoking background information that's leads you to other references and influences.

Bought this along with a bunch of other death metal classics LAST year, and just now I'm realizing how awesome this album is. My first Amorphis album, but hopefully not my last. Some of the keyboard parts give it an almost "The Doors meets Death Metal" vibe...hence the light my fire cover? lol